A teacher in Mount Horeb, Wis., near Madison, is back in the classroom today after being removed for showing her students a film that some people claim showed “nude and graphic images.”

All of the images in the film, “Miss Representation“, came from prime-time television shows and music videos, the Wisconsin State Journal says.

The 2011 film details how mainstream media contributes to the under-representation of women in influential positions by portraying them in demeaning and disparaging ways.

Steve Salerno, the school superintendent, told parents in a letter that the goal of the video in Beth Maglio’s “social problems” class is appropriate, but he says the district will move ahead with a greater sensitivity to those who might object.

He said students who object to portion of the class on gender inequalities would be given alternative assignments without retaliation.

“The images in the documentary are all from public sources and none of the images are from pornography sites,” the teacher’s lawyer said. “That’s the whole point of students seeing these images and hearing these prominent women (interviewed in the film) talking about the issues raised by those kinds of images. It’s very powerful.”

About the blogger

Bob Collins has been with Minnesota Public Radio since 1992, emigrating to Minnesota from Massachusetts. He was senior editor of news in the ’90s, ran MPR’s political unit, created the MPR News regional website, invented the popular Select A Candidate, started several blogs, and every day laments that his Minnesota Fantasy Legislature project never caught on.

NewsCut is a blog featuring observations about the news. It provides a forum for an online discussion and debate about events that might not typically make the front page. NewsCut posts are not news stories.